


All I Ask

by EeveeNicks



Category: Metroid Series
Genre: Bounty Hunters, F/M, Mercenaries, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 09:26:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7634947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EeveeNicks/pseuds/EeveeNicks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ex-cop and rookie bounty hunter Samus Aran contracts for a job with Federation Army Commander Adam Malkovich. As time goes on, she finds herself growing closer to the enigmatic man and realizes she desires his presence on the eve of her Zero Mission. AdamxSamus One-shot (Adamus) Inspired by the Adele song of the same name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All I Ask

All I Ask

 

            I don’t know why I bothered giving him a second thought. I’ve always hated these kinds of missions, the kinds when I have to take orders and do the dirty work for some stuffed shirt in a control room. They always end the same, and they never pay enough, but it’d been a while since I’d had a really good mission. I guess I would never have looked twice at the contract if I hadn’t been so hard up for the money.

            It was a simple enough mission: go to some decimated Earth colony and evacuate any survivors. Given that the Pirates had gone in, taken what they wanted, and gotten the hell outta Dodge before the Federation even knew something was going down, I doubted I would encounter much in the way of combat. It seemed almost too easy. Until I saw the condition in the fine print, of course. It would pay me enough credits to live off for almost three whole months, but I would have to work under some Federation Army Commanding Officer. As someone who lives paycheck to paycheck, this job seemed like a great opportunity to get ahead on my bills finally. As someone who was discharged from the police force due to an inability to be a team player, this seemed like a mistake waiting to happen.

            So I applied for the job, naturally putting things like my need to eat and pay rent above my ego. I knew it would probably go down in flames like all of my other attempts to work for the Federation had, but work was a scarce for a rookie bounty hunter and I didn’t have much of a choice. I didn’t think I would actually be the hunter selected for the mission, but apparently most of the more experienced hunters had passed it up when they saw the CO was some notorious hard-ass named Adam Malkovich. I’d never heard of him, but I figured I could grin and bare his orders for a bit if it meant getting some cash in my purse and experience under my belt.

            I set a course for his ship, the Vixiv IV, as soon as I got word that I had the job. It was some massive Special Ops Battleship that made my little red ship look like a dinghy. I don’t think I’d ever seen one quite so massive and intimidating. A whole platoon probably could have lived on it quite comfortably for months at a time. I honestly expected to see a lot more soldiers, but once I docked my ship and headed over to the main briefing room, I was shocked at how empty the place was. The boots of my powersuit rang out against the metal floor with each step I took, and the sounds echoed back at me unaccompanied by any other signs of life. I followed the map I had been sent in a transmission earlier that day and found myself walking through rooms and halls filled with the most advanced radar and weapons systems I had ever seen on a Federation ship. Of course, it wasn’t nearly on par with the Chozo technology I had grown up around, but it was damn impressive for a Fed ship and a little intimidating after years of working with the outdated police systems on Daiban.

            When I arrived at the briefing room, there was only a lone figure standing within it, his posture straight and his hands behind his back as he awaited my arrival. To my surprise, he was a human man, his hard face set in a stoic gaze as he sized me up. I knew the look well, as it was the same one I wore beneath my visor. He looked to be about forty cycles, his dark hair starting to show whispers of gray beneath his Commander’s hat. Medals and stars decorated his dark blue coat, showing achievements far exceeding his years and his rank. Wrinkles shadowed the corners of his eyes, suggesting at what he had seen to earn those medals. The stern but haunted gaze of his grey eyes confirmed all that I suspected about him, and at first glance, I thought him one of those rare men I could grow to respect.

            He gave me a slow nod as I walked through the door, which I returned as I held his gaze. He was a tall man, perhaps taller than myself without my armor.

            “Samus Aran, I presume?” He spoke in a quiet but commanding voice, his whole demeanor projecting a calm that suggested that he had full control of not only himself, but everything else in the situation as well.

            “Correct,” I replied in my suit’s synthetic voice, imitating his calm. If he was really as much of a nightmare to work with as the hunters made him out to be, the least I could do was try to cooperate and get on his good side. At least as long as I could while my temper held out. “And you would be Commander Malkovich, yes?”

            “I would, indeed.” He had not batted an eye or flinched in the slightest at the sight of my suit or the sound of its voice, and I wondered if all Army personnel were like this. My suit generally made humans and other sentient creatures uncomfortable, particularly given that they could neither see my face nor figure out the origin of the unique golden armor. “I take it you’ve read the assignment?”

            “Of course.” I tried to keep my tone even, but at the same time I wondered what kind of idiot didn’t read mission assignments before going into them. “Go to the wreckage of the colony. Locate survivors. Extract them if possible.”

            “Very good.” His gruff demeanor made the comment feel almost sarcastic in nature, and I could feel my pulse rising.

            “I’m not an idiot, you know,” I retorted, watching as he raised his eyebrows ever so slightly and stared at me. “Who in their right mind would show up for a mission without knowing what it was?” He continued to look at me, something in his eyes a mixture of annoyance and intrigue. I found myself wondering what he was thinking.

“You would be surprised,” he said at last, looking away from me and walking over to a massive control screen that took up one of the walls. “It’s not unusual for independent contractors to show up here unprepared. If it were up to me, the Federation would not hire any of you at all but I digress… I did have to wonder if you would be the same, particularly given your history.”  
            I scowled and bit my tongue to hold back from cursing at him. “You pulled my files? My _sealed_ files from the Police Force? Do you realize what a violation of privacy that is?”

Once again his face was impassive, immune to my heated tone. “They may be sealed to most, but this is a Special Ops mission. Given the nature of this division, we cannot allow for any unwelcome surprises. There are lives at stake, Ms. Aran.”

So he knew I was a woman. And he knew of my discharge for reckless behavior and insubordination. “So if you knew what a loose cannon I am, why hire me for this mission? There are a lot hunters out there these days.”

If I didn’t know better, I would say the ghost of a smile passed across his lips as he looked me up and down. “I suppose I just like a challenge.”

 

* * *

 

I had been to a lot of desolate planets before, but there was always something about the human colonies that made my stomach clench in on itself. All too familiar with Space Pirate handiwork, I found myself walking slower than usual through the wreckage. Twisted metal intermingled with bones beneath my boots, and I tried as much as I could to avoid stepping on any human remains, but it seemed inevitable. Human bodies lay strewn about the carcasses of fallen buildings, and ash rained down across the landscape. Dense smoke rendered everything in sickly orange gray light, and I felt like I was traversing the craters of an undiscovered planet rather than one that had been designed in the image of Earth.

Despite having taken significantly more dangerous missions in my time, to this day, this remains one of the incidents that have unnerved me the most. I had not expected to find many survivors, but I had not expected this sepulchral silence punctuated only by the rhythmic steps of my boots. Not even a wind blew as the ash fell lightly down and dusted the corpses and the remains of what was once a thriving community. I felt my skin grow clammy as I saw the open eyes of a dead woman gazing upon me. She seemed perfectly untouched by the chaos surrounding her, save for the iron rod running through her abdomen and into the concrete wall behind her.

Though I don’t know what came over me, I stopped, automatically, and closed her eyes with my free hand. I could taste the bile coming up my throat and remembered suddenly that the Commanding Officer could see whatever I saw. Initially, I stiffened, hoping he would not catch that moment of weakness as I stood up and went back about my way, scanning through my thermal visor, looking for survivors. If he noticed my discomfort, he never said anything, and I was all right with that.

The search lasted hours, though I’m not sure how many. I know I far surpassed the time allotted, but Commander Malkovich didn’t say anything as I continued to look through the rubble and tried to access the basements below the wreckage. The ash had long since stopped falling by the time I realized my efforts were futile, something I probably should have realized hours earlier, but refused to believe. Earth Colony raids always struck a very personal chord with me, though I refused to let anyone else know that, lest they use it against me. Coming up as a rookie bounty hunter was hard enough without anyone having reason to think I was damaged or fragile. I never even removed my suit in front of other hunters or the parties for whom I contracted.

When I returned to my ship, I sent word to the Vixiv that I was returning without any survivors in hand. Commander Malkovich acknowledged me without comment on my lack of cargo. He must have figured this would happen. No one ever survived a raid of that magnitude. Well… usually no one survived. Trying not to think too hard about where I had just been, I docked my ship and began to head back toward the briefing room, only to find Commander Malkovich had come to meet me in the docking bay.

“Commander,” I said as I stood straight up to present myself, suddenly aware I was still covered in the gray and white ash.

He glanced at me, seeming oddly troubled by my appearance. “At ease, Aran. You needn’t be formal with me today.”

Relaxing my stance, I studied him, but I could not put my finger on the cause of his distress. “I was unable to locate any survivors. The colony has been annihilated.”

“Yes,” he said icily as his grey eyes bore into me. “I could see everything you did. I was watching the whole time.” He frowned. “Why didn’t you return after the first five hours? You know that’s all you were commissioned for. I’m not authorizing payment for the other three.”

There was a real answer to that question, but I could never speak it. Not to him. Not that day. “Just being thorough. Didn’t want to risk leaving anyone behind.”

“That’s hardly a typical response from a hired gun.”

“Does that anger you?” I asked, trying to figure out the reason for his obvious annoyance. “You knew when you hired me, I play hard and fast with the rules. I’m not going to half-ass a mission just because you didn’t authorize more time. If any of the children had survived and were hiding, I couldn’t just take off and leave them there.”

His irritation slowly shifted over to confusion as suddenly he regarded me very differently. “Children? There were no children, Aran. That was a research colony. The terra-formers were all scientists.”

“Oh…” I was grateful for my helmet as I could feel my face flushing red beneath it. “I suppose I just assumed…”  
            “Aran,” he said, raising his eye brows as he turned and began leading me back to the briefing room, “don’t take this the wrong way, but why the hell are you a mercenary?”

I stopped midway through the first corridor and glared at him. “What do you mean by that? You read my record, so you know about my discharge from the Federation Police Force. What more of a reason do you need?”

“No, that’s not what I…” He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to compose his thoughts. “I don’t mean it like that. I just… you hardly seem like the other bounty hunters I’ve had to deal with. You have… at least you seem to have… a greater capacity for compassion than most people I’ve met. I mean, it’s a compassion for the dead, but a compassion no less.” He looked at me very seriously. “Most hunters swoop into these scenarios like vultures trying to make a quick buck off of a catastrophe. You have almost… a nobleness about you.”

“You would be the first to think that, Commander Malkovich. I can assure you, I’m nothing but a bad cop turned bounty hunter, so don’t be getting in your head that I’m some kind of knight-errant roaming the land, fighting in the name of good. I simply have proper respect for the dead, nothing more.”

“And concern for the living.” He actually smiled, a stoic sort of smile, if such a thing exists, but still a smile. “I saw how you stopped to close the eyes of that woman. It was a gesture of compassion. But what impressed me more was simply your desire to save the non-existent children, even at the penalty of not being paid for your extra efforts. You didn’t do that for the money.”

I averted my gaze and began walking toward the briefing room once more, trying to shrug of his observations. “I suppose not everything I do is strictly for the money. Or maybe I’d just like to be contracted a second time.”

“Or maybe you care about something other than yourself. That’s not a bad thing. I don’t know why you seem so ashamed.”

Looking back at him, I realized he was not following me and stopped. “Maybe I do. Maybe I spent a lot of years trying to be a good cop. But what of that matters now? What you call compassion, others call weakness. Compassion isn’t a luxury I can afford.”

His face didn’t change, still that stoic gaze I swore could see right through my armor. “If you think that, perhaps you are the same as the others. But I don’t think you do. I think that ‘weakness’ of yours is a rare asset and the galaxy would be better off if more possessed it. You’re certainly not a knight-errant, but you do possess a nobleness and a sense of honor that separates you from the rest of your lot. I’ve worked with a lot of hunters and soldiers over the years, many who far surpass you in professionalism and achievements, Ms. Aran. But there’s a distinctive quality in you not often seen in people anymore, something other worldly. You have the ferocity of a killer, but beneath it all, you possess true compassion and carry yourself with the grace and dignity of a Lady.”

For a long time, I just stared at the strange man. I had been called a lot of things in my life between the police academy, my time on the force, and my abrupt career shift into becoming an independent bounty hunter. I had been called every name for a woman under the sun, from the most patronizing to the most obscene, and with each jeer I had grown increasingly bitter and more secretive about my sex. From anyone else, a word like “Lady” would have seemed cruel and sarcastic, but Commander Malkovich had somehow managed to make it sound dignified. I don’t know how, but in that moment he touched something inside of me I had thought to be long dead.

“I’m hardly a lady,” I scoffed. “But… I suppose if that’s what you want to call me, I don’t have any objections.”

He laughed. Something about the sound seemed strange coming from him, but he had a nice laugh, and it seemed to melt some of the years off of his face. “Glad to hear you have no objections to that one.” Once he stopped laughing, his face fell back into its usual stoic gaze, but it seemed lighter now for some reason. “I apologize if I’m being very forward, but I’m used to being able to see the faces of the men in my command. If you don’t mind, may I see what you look like, Lady?”

I don’t know if it was the polite way he asked, the bizarre situation, or my head still being rattled from the mission, but I did as he requested. I had not removed my helmet for anyone connected to a mission since my days on the Force, but I found myself clicking off its airlock and slipping it off of my head into the crook of my arm. I felt strangely naked as he studied my face and my blonde hair in its messy ponytail. My bangs were caked up with the sweat on my forehead, and I must have looked like a train wreck. But he did not seem to care about my weathered appearance and gazed upon me almost fondly. As unusual as it was, I found it strangely comfortable that this man could see me as I was and not just the faceless mask of my armor. It felt good to be acknowledged, even if only in such a small way, as a human woman instead of just a walking weapon.

As I flew my ship into deep space that night, I reflected on the events of the day and realized, with some surprise, that I actually possessed a fondness for the enigmatic Commander Adam Malkovich. I began to wonder, against my better judgment, if perhaps he had also felt what I did between us.

It was a long time before I finally looked at the money he had transferred into my account before we parted ways, but when I did, I was shocked to find he had paid me for the full eight hours I was down on that wasteland of a planet.

 

* * *

 

 

My career took a notable turn after that day on the destroyed colony. Once Commander Malkovich put in a good word for me with other military personnel, I saw my job offers triple in less than a month. Apparently, an endorsement from the Commander did not come easily, and people were curious to work with the mysterious cyborg Samus Aran. Of course, no one bothered to research me quite as thoroughly as he had, and many of my employers assumed I was a man or simply more machine than person. That suited me all right though. I didn’t feel any need to get personal with these people.

From time to time, I would contract with Commander Malkovich as well. Sometimes it would be run of the mill cargo transports or small base infiltrations. Surprisingly, he never contracted me to go on a search for survivors again. It confused me because I knew he had been satisfied with how thorough I had been the first time around. When I asked him about it once, he simply replied that he thought I didn’t like those missions much. The man was remarkably perceptive, and I honestly think he knew how seeing slaughtered civilians affected me but also knew I would never talk about why. Somehow, he knew my life had been such that seeing those images affected more than it would most others, and I was grateful he never asked for details.

I’m not sure when I started seeing him outside of work. I’m not sure when I started letting my hair down around him and calling him Adam. The days just bled into each other back then. My schedule was erratic, and I took as many jobs as I could because I knew the market was either feast or famine. I just know that when I contracted with him, Adam would give me my directive, and if there was no one else around, he would end his orders by saying “Any objections, Lady?” As ridiculous as it sounded, I could not help but feel myself smiling in those moments.

It was not simply flirtation, although I’m sure that was a component of it. It was not even so much an acknowledgement of my sex so much as it was his way of reminding me that he knew there was a human in this armored suit, and he wanted me to make it back. It was a small gesture, but it did wonders for me. I had grown accustomed to being treated as compassionately as if I were a drone, and for my entire adult life, I had only ever been able to depend on myself. Adam reminded me of my humanity, something he claimed seemed lost in me lately.

I’ll never know why he took such an interest in me. Somewhere along the way, it had become a tradition for us to go out for tea after missions. There was a little tea shop on one of the Stations orbiting Daiban, and he often asked me if I would like to join him. Of course I accepted. It was my one reprieve from having to be a machine all of the time, and I enjoyed his company. Truth be told, it did feel a bit awkward though. He was a real champagne and operas kind of guy, and most of the time when he saw me, I would be in my armor, covered in alien slime.

But on the nights he asked me to tea, I’d take off my suit and shower on board the Vixiv while he waited. When the isolation of space got to be a bit much on me, I’d look forward to our next tea outings, imagining how they would go. He and I were so different, and yet we never seemed to lack things to talk about. And even in moments of silence, I never felt uncomfortable in his presence. It was nice to have someone to just sit beside.

There was one night in particular that stands out to me, the night before I began my so-called “Zero Mission” to Zebes. I had avoided contracting with anyone in the week leading up to it, and I was fine with that. If I lived through the Zebes mission, I would be paid more than my last six months worth of missions combined. But that was a very big “if”. As far as anyone knew, the trip to Zebes was a suicide mission. It was generally assumed I would not return, and I honestly expected the same. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to return; I really did want to return. But it was such a heavily guarded Space Pirate stronghold, and countless Federation troops had failed to take it. For some reason, they thought a lone operative would have a chance of infiltrating the base and destroying it from within, and I just happened to be a Federation favorite that week. Little did anyone know just how intimately acquainted I was with Zebes both above and below the surface.

I think in some way I always knew this day would come. I always knew that someday I would have to return to Zebes and fight like hell to take it back from the Pirates. That didn’t really make it any easier though. As I sat in my living room on the eve of the mission, my mind was racing with anticipation. There were so many things going through my mind, but most notably the fact that I might never see my home again. I lived in a little house on one of the large moons of Calliope X. It was hardly anything impressive, but it was the first real home I had since before I left the Chozo.

As dusk fell, I found myself fidgeting on the couch, flipping through television channels, unable to focus on anything. It was a morbid thought, but I could not help thinking that if this was my last night alive, I didn’t want to spend it alone staring absently at reruns of Seinfeld. But I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

And then it hit me, and I found the phone in my hand before I even registered what I was doing. I found myself dialing his number out of habit and listening to it ring on his end.

“Hello?” The Commander’s voice simultaneously set my mind at ease and filled me with a new nervous anticipation.

“Hello,” I replied. “It’s me… I was wondering if maybe you would like to meet? Perhaps for tea?”

“Lady? It’s late… Are you already near Daiban?”

“No I’m… I’m actually at home. In a house… my house.” Smooth.

“Is everything all right?”

“Do you want to come over for tea? Now?”

There was a short silence on the line, and I wondered if the call had dropped before he spoke again. “I can do that.” He paused again. “Where do you live, Lady?”

I told him and sent my coordinates. I knew it would take him a good minute to get this far out in space, but I also knew it was my last chance to see him before my mission. I don’t know what I was expecting, and part of me felt ridiculous for inviting an Army Commander to my house at who-knew-what hour of the night for tea that I wasn’t even sure I had. But part of me also knew I needed to say “fuck it” and do something tonight that just felt right. And seeing Adam felt right.

He arrived sooner than I expected him to, and I began to wonder where the Vixiv IV had been stationed. I was surprised to see him wearing a navy blue button down shirt and a pair of gray slacks. I realized I’d ever seen the man out of uniform. Then again, I think he was surprised to see me in my maroon sweater and ripped blue jeans in my house that looked like something out of an Ikea catalogue.

“Hey,” I greeted him as I let him in the door. It felt so strange having him here instead of at his command station or in our little tea shop light years away.

“Good evening, Samus.” He seemed every bit as confused as I was and awkwardly removed his shoes when he realized I was barefoot. I wondered if I had mentioned to him at some point that I didn’t allow shoes in my house.

I motioned for him to sit on the couch as I stepped behind my kitchen’s bar in search of tea. My house’s open floor plan certainly made it easy to entertain guests but hard to escape any potential awkwardness. “How was your trip here?”

“It was all right,” he said in his calm, even tone as he watched me fumble through my cabinets. “And your night?”

I shrugged as I dug a very crushed box of Lipton tea out from behind a bunch of canned green beans. “Just anxious I guess. Long day tomorrow.” I was glad I had opted to buy a set of matching mugs as I threw a couple of teabags in them, filled them with water, and stuck them in the microwave. “I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight.”

“No,” he said as he shook his head. “I wasn’t able to sleep myself.”

“Busy day tomorrow for you too?”

He hesitated, watching my faces as the microwave droned on in the background. “Not for me. I don’t know that I’ll be good for very much knowing where you will be.” There was a silence that lasted long enough for the microwave to beep.

“I didn’t realize you were that… _interested_ in this mission.” I took the cups out of the microwave and set them on my coffee table before taking a seat next to him.

He smiled sadly. “Frankly, my Lady, I don’t give a damn about the mission. But I doubt I’ll be able to focus on anything until you’re home and safe.”

“Heh…” I felt a tightness in my chest as I looked down at the steaming tea in my hands. “That’s a funny thing to say to someone about to go on a suicide mission.”

He looked away as well as he took his mug into his hands. “I can only hope that if there is one warrior who can survive this mission, you’re the one. I feel like it’s my fault in a way… getting you involved with contracting for the Federation in the first place. Perhaps if I hadn’t…”

“I could have said no.” I looked at him as I set my mug firmly back on the table. “I chose to accept this mission. This is something I have to do… something I was built to do. I don’t expect you to understand, but I need you to know this was my choice, and it’s not your fault.”

Adam studied me, his gray eyes unreadable as he set his mug next to mine. “You shouldn’t be the one reassuring me tonight.” His voice was so calm despite how my heart was racing, and it gave me something to hold on to, even if just for a few seconds. “You called me here. Lady, what’s troubling you?”

I clenched my fists in my lap and tried to gather my thoughts. “I just… I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to see you. Here. I needed something…”

He leaned in closer and put his hand on my shoulder. I could feel its warmth radiating through me, and I knew that in that moment, he was what I needed. “Don’t get me wrong… I know,” I whispered, my voice catching in my throat, “I’m out of tomorrows.” I placed both of my hands on his chest and let myself fall into his embrace. Strong arms wrapped around me as I rested against him. “All I ask is if this is my last night with you, hold me like I’m more than just a friend. Please, just give me a memory I can use…” I pushed myself up, still in his grip and looked him in the eyes as I slid my body closer into his. Slipping my arms up and around his neck, I ran my fingers into his hair and pulled his head into a kiss.

I was no virgin by any means, but as I felt his mouth on mine and clung to the moment with unprecedented tenacity, I realized it was the first time I’d felt anyone was truly making love to me. He gripped my hair firmly and pulled back my head as he hungrily kissed down the side of my neck, stopping to bite right where it met the shoulder. I felt myself growl and melt into the sensation as he held me tighter, pulling me on top of him as he fell back into the cushions. I laughed as I looked down at him, pinning his shoulders as I pushed myself up and straddled his hips with my thighs.

Adam laid back and looked up at me, smiling. The normal ice in his stormy gray eyes was replaced with a desire and a ferocity I had never seen in him before. As I felt his grip tighten around my waist, I could feel how deeply he wanted me. Wanted me specifically. I lowered my mouth onto his and kissed him again. I savored the taste of him as I gripped his shirt and tore the top of it open. It ripped easily as paper as I moved down and ran my lips over his chest, moving back up to that spot where his neck met his shoulder and sinking my teeth into it until I was sure to leave a mark. I felt his body tense at first but then relax into it as he moaned softly.

I leaned over him and looked him in the eyes. “That’ll give you something to remember me by, Adam Malkovich.”

He grinned mischievously as he bucked his hips and flipped me onto my side so we were lying face to face. Of course, I could have kept him pinned if I wanted to, but I was excited to see where he was going with this. However, instead of trying to climb on top of me, he just ran his fingers through my hair and pulled it from my face so we could see each other’s eyes. I was sandwiched between Adam and the back of the couch as he put his arm around me and pulled me close. I could feel him running his fingers gently down my cheek and through my hair as I rested my face against his exposed chest.

He held me there for a long while as he gently kissed my neck and the side of my face. My whole body relaxed into his, and through the soft touches I could feel him savoring my body the way I savored his touch. It wasn’t the forceful throes of passion I was used to with other lovers, but a gentle and purposeful affection, almost how I had imaged love-making might be.

“Adam,” I whispered, closing my eyes and nestling deeper into his embrace.

“Yes, Lady?” he replied in his soft, even voice as he continued kissing me.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” He pulled away from my shoulder and lay face to face with me.

“For making me feel like a person. And making me feel wanted… like someone actually wants me to come home tomorrow… like someone one will be waiting for me.”

He placed his hand on my cheek as his usual stern look returned. “Don’t ever doubt that someone will be awaiting your return. Don’t forget that you’re more than just a weapon. More than just a warrior even. You’re my friend, Samus… more than that actually. And when you return, I intend to iron out what that means and make love to you properly, not just rushed and hot and heavy because you feel like your life is on a timer ready to buzz.”

I stared at him for a long moment, unsure how to respond. Eventually, I laid my head back down in his chest and closed my eyes as he continued to stroke my hair lovingly.

“Rest, Samus,” he whispered as he kissed my forehead. “You need your energy for this mission tomorrow, and I promise I’ll be here in the morning.”

I must have fallen asleep in his arms because when I awoke, he was still there, embracing me. He had fallen asleep as well, and at first I just laid and watched him.

When it came time for me to leave, I slipped out of his arms without waking him and covered his body with a blanket before slipping out the door. I could put my hair up and change into my Zero Suit on my ship, I figured, as I rushed off to my final briefing by Chairman Keaton. On some level, I still felt like I was still living my last day, and in many respects, I was. My life was never the same after that mission. Samus Aran became a warrior whose very name struck fear into the hearts of her enemies.

But as for Samus… just regular me Samus… life also changed off the battlefield. For the first time in my life, I had someone to come home to after missions. Someone waiting for me to return. Someone to stay up late nights with me before a battle and hold me so I could sleep. And of course, he made good on his promise to make love to me properly. Over and over again throughout our life together.

I’m not going to say that I couldn’t have done the things I did without Adam Malkovich, but the years he and I were together were the happiest of my adult life. And even after his death, our memories still stayed with me in my darkest moments and helped med push forward even when I thought I had exhausted everything I had. Because for the time I was with him, I was more than just a mercenary. More than just a weapon. I was also his Lady, and he cherished and loved me like I had never been loved before.

And even when I became a legend across the galaxy and people began to regard me as some sort of intergalactic angel of death, I could still remember the man who loved me as just a regular woman in ripped jeans, laying in his arms on a cheap couch in my old living room. Because to him, I was just Samus, and to him, I was real.


End file.
